Ionix analgesic completes Phase I trials
Ionix Pharmaceuticals, the European analgesic drug discovery company based in Cambridge in the UK has successfully completed Phase I clinical studies for its IX-1003 product candidate.
Ionix Pharmaceuticals, the European analgesic drug discovery company based in Cambridge in the UK has successfully completed Phase I clinical studies for its IX-1003 product candidate.
IX-1003 is a proprietary intranasal formulation of the opioid agonist buprenorphine, designed to rapidly alleviate post-operative pain and other acute pain conditions.
The results of the Phase I study suggest that IX-1003 may offer valuable benefits to patients, including fast-onset of pain relief, superior safety, and the ability to tailor therapy to the individual, according to Phillip Birch, chief scientific officer of Ionix Pharmaceuticals. 'Our clinical experience with IX-1003 has generated significant interest from potential corporate partners,' said Andrew Sandham, president and ceo. 'We plan to select our partner to leverage Phase II studies due to start in 2004.'
Ionix also says it had received £10m (Euro 14.3m) of venture capital in a Series B financing in March this year. Proceeds from this financing have accelerated the development of the company's proprietary programmes in novel ion channel blockers for the treatment of chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain.
In addition to IX-1003, Ionix is developing: IX-2000, a calcium channel blocker programme for neuropathic pain; IX-3000, a sodium channel blocker programme for inflammatory pain; and a pipeline of proprietary ion channel analgesic discovery programmes.